Florida Theatre, Inc. — Attraction in Jacksonville

I sincerely hope Florida Theater policymakers, especially those who make disability policies read this. Before posting, I went on the website to find any information relating to accommodations for autism and sensory disorders and found none.

I attended the Fab 4 concert this past weekend and to put it nicely, was the worst concert experience of my life. Previously, I had attended the Billy Joel NY Experience in November 2023 and would rate that 4.5 stars (sat in 1st row in loge) but this time was zero stars.

To begin, if you have a sensory disorder, you will understand. I sat in B100 row E ( first row just above loge) and the limited foot room meant my feet were pressed underneath the bar/fence ( sensory issue #1). Then the already buzzed couple comes behind us and has beer in their hands, which is fine but for a sensory heightened person, we smell it 10x (sensory issue #2).

That same couple now stood up, clapped over my head, whistled, shouted (when others were clapping normally) ( sensory issue #3). Then the guy turned on his camera light making so my husband could not see the stage (kudos to security for telling him to turn it off) but that was again another trigger. The final sensory straw (#5) was that after being told to turn the light off, my chair was kicked numerous times in protest.

I had all I could do to not have a meltdown and this was within their first set (original costumes). During intermission I made the choice to go sit in the top row, where no one was, just to calm down. My husband remained in his seat.

I urge the Florida Theater to continue with your accessible policies and extend those to autism / sensory disorders. I am a licensed developmental therapist and person who lives with a sensory disorder. My recommendations are:

Have a dedicated balcony section where no alcohol is allowed but anything that doesn't give off a scent is (water, sprite, coke)

Space seating out so there is a row between each seats or so there is no one behind ( to eliminate seat kicking and buffer noise) .

Have staff trained and identifiable for autistic individuals so they can handle these situations and relocate people to a sensory friendly seat. A sunflower 🌻 with the word knowledgeable on it would let people know. Also, if you see a patron wearing a sunflower lanyard, they have a sensory disorder, autism, or autism related condition.

A historic theater may not be able to modify some things , to preserve historic integrity; however technology modernizes and lives cohesively within the theater. Non visible disabilities need to function...

We saw Ryan Adams play at the Florida Theatre on July 25. We’re not from Jacksonville, so we drove approx 2 1/2 hours and rented a hotel for the night. We had bought tickets for the show through StubHub; however, an hour before the show started, StubHub sent a message saying that the seller could not fulfill the tickets and basically told us that our only option was a refund. We went to the box office hoping that we could get 2 last minute tickets to the show and were welcomed by Steve. After we explained the issue with StubHub, he promptly apologized and made sure we had a form to help get a reimbursement just in case StubHub dropped the ball again. Then he quickly assisted us with getting 2 seats that were significantly better than the ones we originally purchased (for less money too) and sent us on our way to enjoy the show.

My fiancé and I were more than happy at that point - we had plenty of time to get drinks, buy merchandise, meet some awesome people, and find our seats. Yet, Steve decided that he wasn’t done being the stellar, 5-star employee that he is. He found us a few minutes before the show to let us know that a generous donor with front row seats couldn’t make the show and that he thought we might like to have those seats after all of the issues that we went through with StubHub.

In short, the theatre is beautiful and every volunteer usher and employee that we encountered was courteous and friendly. Steve went above and beyond to rectify a situation that was not the theatre’s fault and truly made our first visit here special. We will definitely be back for...

I am a huge fan of British punk rock band, The Psychedelic Furs so when I saw they were performing at Florida Theater, I was also excited since I had never been there before but heard wonderful things about it. I prefer to buy my event tickets directly through the box offices and not websites for multiple reasons so I called to inquire about tickets and seating availability. I spoke to Steve, the box office manager and he was absolutely amazing and patient with me. It was as if I was speaking to a friend and not some rude person on the other end of a phone just rushing me though a sale. I did not purchase my ticket that night but called to buy it the next morning when they opened at 9:00am and Steve still had amazing professional demeanor towards me offering his superior assistance in providing me the best ticket buying experience I have ever had in my lifetime of buying so many tickets for concerts. Not only that but I have special needs and they considered that when selecting my seats within my budget. I received a call from Sophia, who works in the box office that same day of the concert informing me of a better seat that opened up for me so I happily accepted the new seat. Upon arrival at Florida Theater, I was greeted by many smiling employees, and wonderful volunteers. The venue is absolutely spectacular and beautiful. It gives a clean, classic glamorous feel that makes your jaw drop with awe! A million thank yous to everyone at Florida Theater for making my...